--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So if there is a purpose to the suffering…" description: "\"So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it's meant to improve us.\" — Lance Armstrong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/lance-armstrong-1639_cancer_so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-sufferin_582576.jpg" --- # So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer… ![“So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it's meant to improve us.” quote by Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/lance-armstrong-1639_cancer_so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-sufferin_582576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/lance-armstrong-1639_cancer_so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-sufferin_582576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/lance-armstrong-1639_cancer_so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-sufferin_582576.jpg) > “So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it's meant to improve us.” [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that suffering, such as cancer, serves a purpose of personal improvement and growth. **In simple terms:** Suffering can lead to personal growth. Key Takeaway Use hardship as a catalyst for self-improvement. Themes suffering growth purpose resilience Mood reflective determined hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - cancer treatment - personal setbacks - mental health challenges - spiritual journeys - coaching Key Concepts philosophy psychology health adversity Questions to Reflect On - How can you find purpose in hardship? - What practices help transform pain into growth? A Different Perspective Not all suffering leads to positive change; outcomes vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [In high school, I had two friends that were suffering from cancer. I would go and sing for them while they were in hospital,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-morrison/in-high-school-i-had-two-friends-that-were-suffering-from-cancer-i/) [Matthew Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-morrison/) > [ We chose it's name \[Give the People What They Want\] a while ago, long before the cancer. But I can't think of a more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/we-chose-it-s-name-give-the-people-what-they-want-a-while-ago-long/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I had a big lump in my throat, I could see it and I didn't do anything about it. Eventually, I went to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peaches/i-had-a-big-lump-in-my-throat-i-could-see-it-and-i-didn-t-do-anything/) [Peaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peaches/) > [Social reform is the desperate decision to remove corns from a person suffering from cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/social-reform-is-the-desperate-decision-to-remove-corns-from-a-person/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [To those out there who are suffering from cancer, facing adversity, I want you to know that your will to live can make all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-sager/to-those-out-there-who-are-suffering-from-cancer-facing-adversity-i/) [Craig Sager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-sager/) > [The Bucket List is a movie about two old codgers who are nothing like people, both suffering from cancer that is nothing like cancer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/the-bucket-list-is-a-movie-about-two-old-codgers-who-are-nothing-like/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [People suffering from cancer, or diabetes, or asthma or any other preexisting condition shouldn't have to live in fear of losing their coverage or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-lamb/people-suffering-from-cancer-or-diabetes-or-asthma-or-any-other/) [Conor Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-lamb/) > [My dad was suffering with cancer for six years and my mum was in coma for three-and-a-half months. So, I have seen the hospital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoojit-sircar/my-dad-was-suffering-with-cancer-for-six-years-and-my-mum-was-in-coma/) [Shoojit Sircar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoojit-sircar/) > [Raising money for research and for those suffering with cancer who can't afford treatment is very important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-richards/raising-money-for-research-and-for-those-suffering-with-cancer-who/) [Kyle Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-richards/) > [In my country Kenya, I have been to see young children suffering with cancer. I help them to raise money for treatment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-wanyama/in-my-country-kenya-i-have-been-to-see-young-children-suffering-with/) [Victor Wanyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-wanyama/) > [“The purpose of suffering is to contain the light of your desire until you see yourself in everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-micha-el-leventhal/the-purpose-of-suffering-is-to-contain-the-light-of-your-desire-until/) [Eric Micha'el Leventhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-micha-el-leventhal/) > [True freedom and the end of suffering is living in such a way as if you had completely chosen whatever you feel or experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/true-freedom-and-the-end-of-suffering-is-living-in-such-a-way-as-if/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Suffering is universal; how we react to suffering is individual. Suffering can take us one of two ways. It can be a strengthening and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/suffering-is-universal-how-we-react-to-suffering-is-individual/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [Suffering cracks open the shell of ego, and then comes a point when it has served its purpose. Suffering is necessary until you realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/suffering-cracks-open-the-shell-of-ego-and-then-comes-a-point-when-it/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We create our own unhappiness. The purpose of suffering is to help us understand we are the ones who cause it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/we-create-our-own-unhappiness-the-purpose-of-suffering-is-to-help-us/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) ## More by Lance Armstrong > [I raced because I was paid to do a job and I felt like I had to do the job. Number two: I raced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/i-raced-because-i-was-paid-to-do-a-job-and-i-felt-like-i-had-to-do/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Regardless of one victory, two victories, four victories, there's never been a victory by a cancer survivor. That's a fact that hopefully I'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/regardless-of-one-victory-two-victories-four-victories-there-s-never/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Average is Your Enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/average-is-your-enemy/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Hard work, sacrifice and focus will never show up in tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/hard-work-sacrifice-and-focus-will-never-show-up-in-tests/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Hope that is the only antidote to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/hope-that-is-the-only-antidote-to-fear/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Evan Handler is a man who’s looked into the abyss and laughed. His book, It’s Only Temporary, made me laugh along with him. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/evan-handler-is-a-man-who-s-looked-into-the-abyss-and-laughed-his/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [My cocktail, so to speak, was only EPO, but not a lot, transfusions and testosterone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/my-cocktail-so-to-speak-was-only-epo-but-not-a-lot-transfusions-and/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [I love this race from the very depths of my heart. It gives me motivation and it transcendsme like nothing else in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/i-love-this-race-from-the-very-depths-of-my-heart-it-gives-me/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Nothing goes to waste, you put it all to use, the old wounds and long-ago slights become the stuff of competitive energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/nothing-goes-to-waste-you-put-it-all-to-use-the-old-wounds-and-long/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [ I spent a long time trying to build up an organisation \[the Lance Armstrong Foundation that changed its name to Livestrong after his confession\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/i-spent-a-long-time-trying-to-build-up-an-organisation-the-lance/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [A bicycle is the long-sought means of transportation for all of us who have runaway hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/a-bicycle-is-the-long-sought-means-of-transportation-for-all-of-us/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [You know what they say, the high trees get the wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/you-know-what-they-say-the-high-trees-get-the-wind/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Live strong is exactly I guess what it says. It's one thing to live, but it's another thing to live strong, to attack the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/live-strong-is-exactly-i-guess-what-it-says-it-s-one-thing-to-live/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [I've committed to surfing the rest of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/i-ve-committed-to-surfing-the-rest-of-my-life/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [I would love to be in a place, and I may never get there, where I can help people. It's something that I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/i-would-love-to-be-in-a-place-and-i-may-never-get-there-where-i-can/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) [Explore all 220 Lance Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it's meant to improve us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lance Armstrong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-suffering-that-is-cancer-i-think-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cancer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-suffering-that-is-cancer-i-think-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/lance-armstrong-1639_cancer_so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-sufferin_582576.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/lance-armstrong-1639_cancer_so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-sufferin_582576.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/lance-armstrong-1639_cancer_so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-sufferin_582576.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it's meant to improve us.” — Lance Armstrong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lance Armstrong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So if there is a purpose...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-suffering-that-is-cancer-i-think-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/so-if-there-is-a-purpose-to-the-suffering-that-is-cancer-i-think-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```